Cold As Ice
by BornInTartarus
Summary: "It's January 31st." Sara bit her lip. "Um, okay?" Mick chuckled darkly as he took another large swig of beer. Sara resisted the urge to take the bottle away from him. "It's been 6 years. And this one's the first that he's missing."


_Mick's POV:_

He felt numb. Completely. He knew that if time fractured right that instant on the _Waverider_ , he would continue drinking beer until the ship was dry. He raised the bottle to his lips, the cold beverage slipping down his throat.

To Mick, drinking beer wasn't just a habit, it was comforting. The taste, smell, even the feeling of the chilled glass against his palms was familiar.

The last of the liquid was drained from the bottle, making its way down his stomach. Without really thinking, he put the empty bottle on the floor and reached for another, sitting helpfully on his bedside table in a fresh crate.

He opened, threw the cap onto the floor, and chugged. It was a repetitive process, one Mick relished, and he had been doing it for the last hour.

Or was it two? Mick couldn't really remember, and at that point, he didn't really care either. It was hard to get properly drunk nowadays. With a timeship from the future, especially one that could magically fabricate beer in an instant, he'd been drinking so much that it was like water to him.

So he kept going, ignoring his pounding skull and the pain in his heart.

Oh, and he also ignored Sara's call that everyone should report to the Bridge.

 _Sara's POV:_

According to Gideon, their latest aberration was a dinosaur bone discovered in a woman named Francine Miller's backyard. This would've been amazing, except for the fact that it was _before_ 1822.

She assembled her team on the bridge and filled them in.

"So, we basically have to find this dinosaur bone, and get rid of it before anyone finds it."

"We can use my shrink ray to make it easier to carry." Ray offered.

"Good idea", Sara said, nodding. "We need someone to distract Francine, while the rest of us dig up the bone and shrink it. I feel like we're going to need all hands on deck for this one." She looked around. "Where's Mick?"

The other's shrugged, but Zari spoke up. "I think I saw him going into his room earlier."

Sara sighed. "I'll go get him, the rest of you prepare for the mission." They nodded, and she left.

She made her way to Mick's room, knocking when she reached his door. No one answered. She grumbled, getting impatient, and then asked Gideon to open the door for her.

As soon as the doors slid open, the smell of beer almost knocked her over. She marched in, ready to lecture.

Instead, she was shocked into silence. She found Mick staring into the depths of his beer bottle, looking more depressed than she ever thought possible.

"Mick?" she said softly.

He jolted slightly, almost dropping his beer, and she realized he didn't even know she was in his room.

"What?" he asked gruffly, finally facing her.

"You weren't on the bridge when I called, so I came to check on you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure." he replied, now staring at his feet.

He was lying, no doubt about it, and when Sara studied his face she could tell he was on edge about something. When she thought about it, he _had_ been kind of out of it since their last mission, and the shadows under his eyes meant he hadn't slept recently either. She was definitely worried about him, but she could tell he wasn't ready to talk yet. The least she could do was be ready when he finally was.

"Mick, why don't you sit this one out? If you're not feeling up to it, I'm sure the rest of us can take care of it." Sara said this delicately, trying not to overstep Mick's boundaries.

Unfortunately, this was the last thing Mick expected from her, and he stared at her silently.

Sara shifted awkwardly on her feet, unsure of what to do. Finally Mick spoke.

"Why? I thought you were going to tell me to get my ass out of this room and get ready for the mission." He grunted, chugging from his bottle again.

She winced. She knew he drank a lot, heck, even she drowned her troubles with the good stuff. But even she knew this was totally overkill.

"Well, you've looked kind of tired since the last one." Sara risked, cautiously.

Just like she thought, Mick glared at her with his blood-shot eyes. "I'm fine."

She wasn't an assassin for nothing though. She held her ground. "No, you're not. As much as you hate to admit it, Mick, there is _something_ bothering you. I might be the only one who's noticed, but that doesn't mean i'm dropping this conversation." she crossed her arms determinedly.

This time, unlike denying it, Mick just stared at the floor. Finally, he asked her something that made her heart wrench in two.

"Why?"

 _Why? Because he mattered, obviously. Didn't he know that?_

She sat down next to him. "Because you're part of my family. I care, Mick."

His response was unexpected. "It's January 31st."

Sara bit her lip. "Um, okay?"

Mick chuckled darkly as he took another large swig of beer. Sara resisted the urge to take the bottle away from him. "It's been 6 years. And this one's the first that he's missing."

Mick wasn't making much sense. She suspected that could be because of the beer, but she knew he was also an author. Few saw it, but when Mick wanted to talk, he used his words to the fullest extent.

So she decided to prod. "Who's not here? And missing what?"

"Len."

She hardly caught it. Mick hardly whispered the name.

She had a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Leonard's missing what?"

Mick sighed heavily. "We were _married_ , Sara. For almost 6 years." he smiled bitterly. "Well, it would have been 6, but he died. Just in time."

Sara wanted to pull her hair. She wasn't sure how to cope with the emotional baggage he had just tossed her. Tears were threatening to fall at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

Mick brushed her off. "Don't be. No one knew, anyway. Len and I wanted it that way. It was nice. Quiet. I remember every single time he came back from his house, dragging his sister with him, looking for a safe place to stay." Mick took another swig. "According to him, _anyplace_ away from his monster of a father qualified as safe."

"Eventually, he started coming to me more and more for help. I'd send Lisa to the living room to watch tv, while I propped him on the couch and patched up his wounds as best as I could. I can't think of how many times I clenched my teeth and resisted the urge to _kill_ his dad for how he treated him back then."

Sara could hardly believe what Mick was telling her. Heck, she knew they'd been close, but _married_?

Mick continued. He looked like he wasn't going to be able to stop himself. Sara though, true to her word, listened until the end.

"So we went on heist. We wanted to make a living, not just for ourselves, but for his sister too. But we got good at it. It was exactly what we needed. The rush of danger, adrenalin. And on our 10th heist, Leonard stole a fancy ring, and proposed. I accepted. It just seemed natural."

"Our anniversary is today. Except he isn't here. You know what I told him when he decided he wanted to join this team? I told him I'd go, but I wasn't going to be anybody's hero. But I wanted to be _his_. And I couldn't even do that much. Sure, I wanted to save Haircut, but I never thought Len would try to take my place."

Mick was almost crying now, grief pouring out of him. And if Sara was being honest, they were tear tracks on her face she was desperately trying to hide as well.

"He loved you. He couldn't lose you, so he had to take your place." she choked out.

Mick lashed out suddenly, smashing his beer bottle on the floor. " _What about me? Do you think I'd be able to cope with losing him_?"

Sara couldn't even blame him for being so angry. Dimly, she knew that the other's would be worried, wondering where she was. She couldn't exactly bring herself to care at that moment though.

So they sat together on the bed, him shaking, her crying silently.

Without really thinking about it, she wrapped her arms around him. Instead of pulling away, he leaned into the hug, needing the comfort. And in both of their heads, the thought of a snarky smile was there.

 _Captain Cold, a husband, a brother, a friend, a thief._


End file.
